Rolled finger bandage



Aug. 2, 1966 B. ROSENFI ELD 3,

ROLLED FINGER BANDAGE Filed Jan. 2, 1964 8 INVENTDR. Bey/0w! oaen/v'eflA TTOR YS United States Patent 3,263,682 ROLLED FINGER BANDAGE BenjaminRosenfield, Rego Park, N.Y., assignor to The Scholl Mfg. Co., Inc.,Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 2, 1964, Ser. No.335,063 Claims. (Cl. 128-157) This invention relates to improvements ina rolled finger bandage, and more particularly to a finger bandage madeof a tubular woven fabric such as a soft gauze, for example, and whichis designed to be placed over a digit such as a finger or toe andretained in position without any further a-id, although the bandage maybe made sufiiciently large to cover a hand or foot, if so desired, aswill be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the past, tubular gauze bandages have been utilized. As heretoforeutilized, a piece of gauze woven in tubular [form was separated from astrip of such gauze of indefinite length. The piece so separated wasslightly over twice as long as necessary to cover a dig-it or a desiredportion of a digit, and with the aid of an applicator somewhat of theform of a finger splint, the bandage was first placed upon theapplicator, then the applicator placed over the digit, withdrawn toleave a portion of the bandage on the digit, and the remainder of thebandage and the applicator were then twisted a desired extent, and theapplicator again pushed over the digit to retrovert the remainder of thebandage over that already on the digit, giving a two-ply covering. Thebandage was then anchored in position with the aid of one or more piecesof adhesive tape. This is shown and described more fully in theHendrickson et a1. U.S. Letters Patent No. 2,456,- 507 of December 14,1948. This formerly known type of bandage and its method of application,while highly desirable for use in clinics, hospitals, and the like byinterns, physicians, surgeons, and other operators, did not becomepopular for home usage because of the necessary instructions andequipment needed to properly apply the bandage, and the possibility oferror or the infliction of pain to the injured in the event of amistaken, hasty, or careless application.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide a rolled tubular bandage, which may be applied to adigit or other part of the body merely by pushing it over the digit, forexample, unrolling the bandage as it passes over the digit.

Another feature of the instant invention it to provide a rolled tubularbandage comprising an elongated tube twisted substantially centrallythereof and with one part of the tube retroverted over the other, andthen the double wall bandage with one end closed rolled into compactform for ready unrolling application.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide a tubular bandagearranged to be self-sustaining upon a digit.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a tubularbandage, centrally twisted with one portion retrover-ted over the other,and both portions rolled, with at least one end of the bandage providedwith elastic circumscribing means by which the bandage is held inposition over a digit or other part of the body.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view illustrating a bandage embodyingprinciples of the instant invention in operative position upon a finger;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the bandage itself during its formationinto the ultimate product;

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FIGURE 3 is a view of the bandage during its making and prior torolling;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the completed rolled bandage;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary greatly enlarged vertical sectional view takensubstantially as indicated by the line VV of FIGURE 2, looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

FIGURE 6 is a greatly enlarged view of an end portion of the bandageillustrating a slightly different construction from that of FIGURE 5.

As shown on the drawings:

In FIGURE 1, the illustrated embodiment of the instant invention,generally indicated by numeral 1, is shown in operative position on thefirst finger 2 of a hand 3. In this instance, the bandage only reachesthe second joint of the finger, but it will be understood that thebandages may be made in various sizes so as to fit all mens, womens andchildrens fingers and toes and, as stated above, if the bandage in someinstances is desired to cover a hand or foot it may be made that large.For purposes of example, however, the bandage is herein shown anddescribed as a finger bandage.

With reference to FIGURE 2 it will be seen that the bandage is initiallya length of tubular material 4, and a satisfactory material is softcotton gauze, knitted to form a tube of a desired diameter. Thismaterial is s mewhat stretchable by virtue of its knitting, and hasrecovery power. Accordingly, if a tube of the right diameter is chosen,the bandagewill nestle closely around the finger when applied, but willmerely embrace the finger snugly without causing injurious constriction.

As seen in FIGURE 2, the bandage is shown with an intermediate twist 5therein separating two parts of the bandage, 4a and 4b. In making thebandage, it is a simple expedient to utilize a suitable applicator,place all the bandage on the applicator, position the applicator over arod or the like and hold the end of the bandage, draw off the applicatorleaving the part 4a on the rod, twist the bandage as at 5, and thenretrovert the part 4b over the part 4a, as explained in the aforesaidPatent No. 2,456,507. This provides the structure seen in FIGURE 3.

After the structure seen in FIGURE 3 with the part 4b retroverted overthe part 4a to provide a double-ply bandage has been formed, thedouble-ply bandage is then rolled into a tight roll from the open endthereof toward the closed end to provide the structure shown in FIGURE4. This rolling will be a straight outside roll so that as the bandageis seen in FIGURE 4, the inside or finger contacting portion of thetwist 5 is visible with the ultimate interior of the part 4a exposedaround it.

Now with the instant invention the bandage once applied to the finger orother digit is self-sustaining in that it automatically retains itselfin position without further aid. This is accomplished by dipping one endof the severed tube 4 into liquid latex or equivalent elastic materialas indicated at 6, the magnified showing being in FIGURE 5. The latexthen will have a. normal diameter the same as that of the bandage whendipped, and thereafter the latex will be stretchable and retractablealong with the bandage end in the same manner as a rubber band.

In FIGURE 6 I have shown a different way of rendering an end of the tube4 elastic, and in this instance the bandage threads 7 may have elasticthreads 8 woven thereacross at the end portion of the bandage. This willfunction the same as the structure above described but the bandage endwill not be as visible as the structure of FIGURE 5.

It is only necessary to provide the elastic means at one end of the tube4 and if such is the case, that end of the tube should be on the outerbandage flap 4b in the illustrated instance so that it will not onlyhold the outer flap in place but also keep the inner flap in poistion.On the other hand, the opposite end of the bandage may also be providedwith elastic means so that each layer of the ultimate bandage has itsown elastic end portion. In that event, it is preferable that thebandage be so constructed that when placed on a finger the outer portion4b is a trifle shorter than the portion 4a, as seen in FIG- URE 3, sothat the two elastic portions 6-6 are not concentric one within theother which might result in undue constriction of the digit.

It is a simple expedient to take a finished bandage and assuming aninjury on the tip or side of a finger, place the end of a finger againstthe inside of the twist as seen in FIGURE 4 and gently unroll thebandage down the length of the finger. Once the bandage is positioned onthe finger it automatically stays in that position without any furtheraid. It will be noted that the bandage can be extremely quickly appliedand when applied forms a cushioning effect for the end of the finger byvirtue of the twist 5, and gives a soft snug fitting engagement aroundthe finger.

Obviously, the bandages may come in individually sterile packets and, asstated above, may be made in various sizes. The resultant bandage is notonly easy to apply, effective in use, but also highly economical.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bandage comprising a single oppositely open ended tube of fabrictwisted intermediately with a first portion on one side of the twistretroverted over a second portion on the other side of the twist andwith the open ends of said portions adjacent to one another,

said twist forming a closed end for the bandage, and

said fabric having elastic strands woven therein circumferentially ofthe tube adjacent the open end only of at least one of said portions toautomatically hold the bandage in place when applied to the body of auser.

2. A bandage for a digit or appendage, comprising:

a single fabric oppositely open ended tube having a twist intermediatelyto provide a closed end for the bandage,

that portion of the tube on one side of the twist being retroverted overthe remaining portion of the tube on the other side of the twist toprovide a double wall,

and at least one of said portions having an elastic stretchable andretractable free end margin to grip a digit or appendage to whichapplied and hold the bandage in position thereon.

, 3. A bandage as defined in claim 2, in which the double wall is rolledtoward the closed end to facilitate application of the bandage byunrolling the bandage onto a digit or appendage.

4. A bandage as defined in claim 2, in which said twist is so locatedthat one of said portions is shorter than the other portion.

5. A bandage as defined in claim 2, in which said free end margincomprises a dipped elastic coating.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,522,842 9/1950Scholl 128-157 X 2,636,492 4/1953 Wright 128-157 2,646,796 7/1953 Scholl128-157 2,844,146 7/1958 Perdue 128l57 FOREIGN PATENTS 840,523 7/ 1960Great Britain.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

1. A BANDAGE COMPRISING A SINGLE OPPOSITELY OPEN ENDED TUBE OF FABRICTWISTED INTERMIDIATELY WITH A FIRST PORTION OF ONE SIDE OF THE TWISTRETROVERTED OVER A SECOND PORTION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TWIST ANDWITH THE OPEN ENDS OF SAID PORTIONS ADJACENT TO ONE ANOTHER, SAID TWISTFORMING A CLOSED END FOR THE BANDAGE, AND SAID FABRIC HAVING ELASTICSTRANDS WOVEN THEREIN CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE TUBE ADJACENT THE OPENEND ONLY OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PORTIONS TO AUTOMATICALLY HOLD THEBANDAGE IN PLACE WHEN APPLIED TO THE BODY OF A USER.